Russian Culture Society at the University of Texas-Arlington

***RCS Meeting Reminder and Opera Tickets 11/3/16***

First, I wanted to send a shout out to Jonathan, Rebecca, Maria, Paul, and Cassie for their tremendous efforts in handling RCS’ largest Food Fair presence EVER! We await the final profit take, but its estimated we earned over $200 dollars from the event…Здорово!

This Friday we will discuss the logistics of getting everyone who elected to go to the “Евгений Онегин“ opera this Saturday, which of course is a play opera composed by Tchaikovsky based on the novel by Pushkin. Everyone who is on that list needs to come pick up your ticket from Dr. Harrison during the meeting. We received some funding from the Student Congress, so the tickets will not be the full $30. We also will review Evgenniy Onegin and talk about its significance as a Russian Classic. Perhaps we will bring out the jeopardy board for those interested. Увидимся в пятницу!

The first international university rankings headquartered in Russia will evaluate higher education institutions in Russia, Asia, South America and Eastern Europe.

A new ranking of international universities was announced on Nov. 2 by Viktor Savonichy, chairman of the Russian Union of Rectors and Moscow State University Rector. Three Missions of Universities will be the first international university rankings headquartered in Russia. The rankings are expected to garner global recognition, and international experts will be involved in the work over time.

Russia’s First Driverless Bus Unveiled
At Moscow’s Skolkovo Innovation Center, “Матрёшка” (“Matryoshka”) the first electronic driverless bus was revealed. This is the first vehicle of its kind in Russia, and it is designed to carry up to eight passengers. The debut took place at the annual international forum of innovative development. The bus is controlled by computers and is equipped with self-learning software. There are specialized sensors and cameras on board which are able to observe the situation on the road in real-time. With a full battery, the bus can travel 80 miles, with a maximum speed of 20 mph. Testing for the bus was supposed to start in October this year

World’s Oldest Working Actor Dies in Moscow
Vladimir Zeldin, a veteran of both stage and screen has died in Moscow at the age of 101. “Vladimir Mikhailovich passed away early in the morning,” the actor’s wife, Ivetta Kapralova, told the TASS news agency. Zeldin appears in the Guinness Book of World Records as the planet’s oldest working actor. On his 100th birthday, Zeldin appeared in a five-hour-long play.

Неделя в Истории

Week in History

On November 3, 1957 the Спутник 2 mission took off. On board was the first living creature that travelled into space, the dog Лайка. Unfortunately, the animal died a few hours after takeoff due to a mixture of stress and overheating inside the ship. Her real name was Kudryavka, but she became known around the world as Laika, which is the name of her race, a type of Siberian hunting dog.

First Supersonic Flight
On November 1, 1977 the first passenger flight of the Tupolev 144, the first supersonic aircraft in the world, takes place. This aircraft began flying two months before the French Concorde and was the first to reach Mach 1 with passengers aboard. However, due to problems with one of its prototypes, the Soviet aircraft was only in service for Aeroflot for seven months. In 1999 NASA reactivated it for testing supersonic flights.

The Ostankino Tower
The Ostankino broadcasting tower (Останкинская телебашня) was put into operation in Moscow on November 4, 1967. With a height of 540.1 meters at that time was the tallest building in the world and today is the eighth tallest freestanding structure.